A Comforting Silence
by lusciiousx3hsm
Summary: Brooke has been hurt, badly. The only person who knows pain as well as she does is Nathan Scott. Brathan.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first Brathan story. Be nice. But, I have read millions of Brathan stories, and I LOVE BRATHAN, lol, as a couple. So please R&R. Muah!**

**Anyways- Brooke and Lucas are dating. Haley and Nathan were dating, but Haley cheated on him. Brooke and Nathan have been friends forever. Deb and Dan are Lucas and Nathan's parents, but there's still a Karen's Cafe. So Nathan and Lucas are full brothers, not just half. But Deb died, and Lucas is kind of a jackass, like season one Nathan. **

Nathan knew pain. He knew it well. He felt pain when someone told him that his most recent ex, Haley James, cheated on him with Chris Keller. He felt even more pain when he saw it with his own eyes, the same night he was planning on telling her how much her loved her. He felt pain when his mom died, one of the only people who really loved and understood him, leaving him with his dad and jackass of a brother. He felt pain the day when he finally realized he could never live up to his father's expectations. Pain defined him. No one knew pain as well as he did. Well, maybe one person. And he was watching over that person while she slept in his bed.

Brooke had her share of unfortunate happenings, counting tonight. Her parents constantly neglected and ignored her, making her strive to work harder in school and cheerleading, knowing they probably would never watch a game, but doing the best she could anyways. There was one thing she had that Nathan had given up on. Hope. But after tonight, it felt like maybe her hope was trashed, too, because, to add to her horrible list of pain, her boyfriend had just cheated on her, _with her best friend._The only boyfriend, she thought, she truly loved.It doesn't get much worse than that.

Of course she had other friends, but Peyton...was more like a sister. _Get that thought right out of your head, Brooke Penelope Davis! She fucked your boyfriend, _thought Brooke, _although, Peyton was piss-drunk. Lucas practically raped her. But STILL!! How drunk do you have to be to not know who you're having sex with?!_

Brooke rolled over and looked at Nathan, to find him staring right back at her. He was propped up on one elbow, slowly studying her. No words had to be said. Brooke and Nathan were always okay with comfortable silence. They grew up together, best friends. It was destined for them to be, they were from the two wealthiest families in Tree Hill. They had always been close, and it seemed to most that they liked each other. And they had. But before Nathan got a chance to make a move, Lucas did, beating Nathan at something again. Nathan always thought that's why he asked Brooke out. To piss him off, prove he was better at everything. But then when Nathan had met Haley, he thought maybe it was good that Lucas had asked her out. He finally found his true love. Or so he thought. He didn't, because if Haley really loved him, she wouldn't have cheated on him. That night, he went to Brooke's house, climbed into her window, and just layed down next to her. She didn't even ask. They just layed there, in silence. Comforting silence.

"Nathan, please tell me I just had a horrible nightmare."

"Brooke, you have no idea how much I wish I could."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earlier that night...

Brooke Davis was suppose to be at the best party of the year. And, it was, until pretty much everyone besides her happened to get drunk. She couldn't drink tonight of course, being the designated driver for her friends.

She was banking on the fact that her boyfriend, Lucas, was probably drunk, too. She just hoped he hadn't crashed a car or anything. He told her he was going up to bed an hour ago.

Her best friend, Peyton, was already trashed, she knew, and was probably hooking up with some guy right now.

Brooke got up slowly from the couch she was sitting on, gently took Bevin's head from off her shoulder and leaned it onto the couch, and walked upstairs to find Peyton.

The Scott house was, in a few words, huge. She quietly creaked up the stairs trying to find out which room Peyton was in. Instead, she found Nathan, Lucas's brother.

"Hey Nate, have you seen Peyton?" she whispered.

"I..uhmmm..yeah.." he answered sheepishly.

"Well, could you tell me where she is..?" she asked. _Why is he acting so weird? He must be hiding something...OMG!! He hooked up with Peyton._

"I don't think I should-"

"Natey, did a certain Scott boy hook up with Peyt?" she flashed her signature dimples.

_Damnit, Brooke, not the dimples..._

"I uh...you could say that..." he answered slowly

"OHMYGOSH! You guys SO did it!"

Nathan swallowed hard. How could he break this to her?

"Listen Nathan, this whole...guessing game is real cute, but I need to get Peyton home, so excuse me-" Brooke pushed past him, and opened the first door she found.

"Brooke, no, you don't want to-"

Brooke opened the door and peeked her head in, looking for some blonde curls. She saw Peyton and some guy she couldn't make out, totally doing it.

_Hah! That slut. First Nathan, now some other random guy. She is sooo giving me details when she's sober again._

She quickly found the switch on the wall and gasped when she could see what was happening.

"What the hell?!?!"

Peyton looked up slowly. She was obviously piss drunk. "Brooke..?" She asked slowly.

"Fuck." The "random" guy finally spoke up.

"Interesting words, boyfriend, considering that's just what you got from my _best_ friend!"

"Brooke, please, just...let me-"

"No, my stupid ex-boyfriend known as LUCASSHOLE, I won't let you explain. You just fucked my best friend, and you're probably not that drunk either."

"Brooke, please?"

"No. You both are dead to me. Hope you're happy with eachother."

Brooke walked out of the room and bumped into Nathan. She was fully crying now, she didn't care if he saw it.

"Brooke, I'm so sorry...I didn't know how to tell you..I didn't want to see you cry.." Nathan explained as he wrapped his arms around a crying Brooke.

Brooke leaned further into him and sobbed in his chest.

"I thought he loved me."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alright guys. Consider this the pilot. If you review, I'll write more.


	2. Chapter 2

Brooke looked around and took a deep breath. She was back, hopefully for good, in the halls of Tree Hill High. After the whole..Pucas..incident, Brooke had left for a few weeks to go see her aunt and uncle in California. She had hooked up with numerous guys, in true Brooke fashion, or at least that's what she would tell her friends. But the truth was, she spent the entire time just relaxing and having fun with her family. She had met one guy though, David. She met, more like was warned against meeting him, through her cousin, who was the same age as Brooke. David seemed really cool at first, but then her cousin, Kelly, told her weird stories about him. Kelly had mentioned that he was a bit...stalkerish and had even beat his ex girlfriend. After hearing that, Brooke tried to stear clear of him. David called her a lot, but Brooke figured it would be the best to just leave it alone. After all, she was only going to be there for a few weeks.

She thought he'd forget about her, but when her cousins dropped her off at the airport, she saw him out of the corner of her eye, staring at her, in a stalker-type way.

Brooke then proceeded to run as fast as she could to her gate.

"Brooke?"

She whipped around to see her possible former best friend at her locker.

"Uhm..hey..Peyt. What's up?"

"Listen, I know that you...well, you just left, and I mean I...never really got a chance to explain myself, or...tell you how sorry I really am." Peyton raked a hand through her curly locks. "That whole thing with Lucas, I mean, I don't even remember it. I was drunk, and upset, and I know that doesn't make it okay, but I am sorry. And even if I'm not your best friend anymore, please know that you're still mine."

"Peyton, why are you making this so hard to do?"

"Huh..?"

"You're making it impossible to be mad at you."

"Oh."

"I know I should have told you I was leaving, even after what happened. And I also know you didn't mean to hurt me. In a way, you kind of helped me. So, thanks."

"You're welcome..wait, what?"

"You made me see that Lucas sure as hell isn't the guy I thought he was. He took advantage of you. I thought I loved him, but I didn't. And part of me deeply resents you, but the other part of me knows that, even if you were sober, you wouldn't fuck someone I did truely love."

"That means a lot Brooke. And, it's so true. So where does this leave us?"

"I'm hoping as friends again."

"Me too."

Brooke leaned in and gave Peyton a huge hug.

"I love you P.Sawyer."

"I love you B. Davis."

"I gotta get to class, but I'll see you later."

"Alright."

"And Peyt?" 

"Hmm?"

"It's going to take time for me..to fully forgive you, but I promise, I will."

"I'll wait forever, Brookie."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the day went by pretty slow for Brooke. Whenever she would see Lucas, she would avoid him. She hadn't seen Nathan yet, but she usually saw him before fifth period and at lunch. Lately, she found herself thinking about him a lot, but she didn't mind.

"Brooke?"

Brooke turned around. She would know that voice anywhere.

"Nathan?!", Brooke screamed as she ran towards Nathan. She jumped into his arms.

"I missed you.", he whispered into her ear.

"Me, more.", she said back.

Brooke reluctantly pulled back from his arms.

"It's so good to see you."

Nathan frowned. "Brooke, it's great to see you too, and I'm so glad you're back. But where have you been? You didn't tell anyone you left. I thought...I mean I didn't know if...-"

"I was gonna come back?", Brooke finished.

"Well, yeah. I missed you, B."

"I know, Nate. I missed you too."

Nathan smiled and put his arm around her as they walked to fifth period.

"So, where did you go?"

"California, to see my aunt and uncle and all my cousins. I just needed some time away from here after ...well, you know. I didn't want anyone to know. I needed to go away, for myself."

"Sounds like something I'd do. What did you do while you were there?"

Brooke hesitated telling him her planned story that she had told everyone else. She didn't want to, and she couldn't. It was Nathan.

"Honestly, I just hung out with my family and my cousin Kelly. Just a few parties, and a lot of relaxing."

"Meet any guys?"

"Just one, but I already regret it."

"Who..and why?"

"His name was David. He was really cool. We hung out a few times."

Brooke could feel Nathan's body stiffen. _Is he jealous? No, he's just being protective._

"Don't worry, nothing happened. I wouldn't have let it. My cousin told me some sketchy stuff about him, and I kind of avoided him."

"Oh really?"

Brooke giggled. "Yes really." She stopped him at the classroom door and held a hand to his chest. "See you at lunch, Nate." She kissed his cheek and slipped inside the classroom.

"Bye." Nathan sighed. He was so glad his best girl was back. He had missed her like hell, especially since she had just left out of nowhere.

There was so much he needed to tell her.


	3. Chapter 3

"CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG YEAHHHH!!!"

Brooke was at yet another infamous "can't miss" party, and honestly, she felt like maybe it should be more of a "can definetely miss". She was getting a little tired of the whole party scene. It was what Brucas was known for, before they broke up. And of course, it didn't help that Lucas had made out with and possibly done more with half the cheerleading squad tonight.

"Brookie-Cookie!!"

She sighed as she heard her nickname called. "Yes, Bevin?"

"Come play a game of spin the bottle!" Bevin slurred.

"Alright, Bev, I'm coming." Brooke got up to go to the kitchen and sat at the table. Nathan, Lucas, Theresa, Peyton, Skills, Bevin, Tim, and some others were all sitting there.

"Great, its Fuckas.", Brooke muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Lucas inquired.

"Nothing. Let's just play this stupid game." Brooke sat between Nathan and Peyton.

"Mmkay, Brooke, you know how to play. You're first. Says me." Bevin gushed.

"Whoopee." Brooke spun the bottle and landed on Lucas.

"Great. Just great. Bev, let me re spin okay?"

"Brooke, come on, please? We don't have to do anything, I just want to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you! Nathan, tell Bevin I don't have to do this." Brooke pleadingly looked at Nathan.

Nathan, unsure of what to do, finally spat out, "I'll go in with her."

Everyone started talking.

"JUST ...so she doesn't have to go in with Lucas. I'm his brother, close enough right?" Nathan tried to cover up.

"Yeah, guys, let Nathan go in with her." Peyton pleaded. She could tell Lucas was the last person on Brooke's list.

Brooke shot Peyton a thankful look. "It's settled then. Let's go Natey."

Brooke got up, but Lucas pulled her arm back.

"Hold on, B."

"Don't call me that, not anymore."

"But, I was the one the bottle landed on!! Don't I get a say in this?"

"No, you don't. You lost that right and everything to do with me when you fucked...nevermind. I'm sure you know what I mean, you were there."

Brooke grabbed Nathan's arm and dragged him to the closet.

"Alright, Nate, let's do this."

"Okay.."

Brooke went inside the closet and sat down. She patted the space next to her.

"We got seven minutes in here. Probably more, knowing how forgetful Bev is."

Nathan laughed and sat down next to her.

"So..uhm..what do you want to do..exactly?" Nathan cleared his throat.

"I could...catch up on sleep, gossip, rant, vent, have a bitch fit, or kiss you." Brooke listed and giggled.

"I think you should choose the last one." Nathan mumbled quietly.

"What was that?"

"I said, I think you should choose this." Nathan said louder.

"Wha-" Nathan crashed his lips onto hers in a passionate kiss. For awhile, Brooke found herself kissing back. But then, she realized what she was getting herself into.

Brooke roughly pushed Nathan back.

"Nate, what the-"

"Brooke, I love you."

"hell...How did...Why...When did you...But...I dont'...how..?"

"I don't know how you feel about me, but I just needed you to know. I love you."

"What do you expect me to say to that?"

"I guess I didn't think about that part."

"Well, maybe you should have."

Brooke stood up and got out of the closet, and turned her head back to Nathan.

"You don't love me. You think you do, but you don't. Don't fall for me. I'll just get hurt again."

Brooke left the closet door opened and stormed into the kitchen to get her purse.

"Brooke..what?" Peyton asked.

"I gotta go, Peyton." Brooke grabbed her stuff and walked out of the kitchen.

Peyton followed her.

"Brooke, you were only in there like three minutes. What the hell happened?"

Brooke whipped around and saw Nathan coming back towards the kitchen.

She stared right at him as she said, "I'll tell you what happened, Peyt. I'll tell you what always happens. The wrong people fall for me. And then they break my heart."

And with that, she stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Why? Why does he like me? Why does he LOVE me? This wasn't supposed to happen. I was only supposed to love him, and he was never supposed to know. I'm done with Scott brothers. _

Brooke angrily wiped tears from her face as she furiously drove home. She pulled into the drug store and bought some ice cream. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw someone familiar as she was checking out. But, it was probably nothing.

After what seemed like forever, she pulled into her garage, got out of her car, and locked every single window and door in her house.

She wasn't letting anyone into her home, and furthermore, she wasn't letting anyone else into her heart.

Little did she know, locking everything was one of the smartest moves she ever made that night.

Someone was watching her. He wanted her. Badly, and in the worst way. But, he didn't want her heart.

And it wasn't Nathan.

And it wasn't Lucas.

It wasn't even Tim.


	4. Chapter 4

Brooke woke up in a hot sweat. She didn't know why, but she had had another dream about David. She calmed herself down turning on all the lights and turning to cartoons on tv.

"Leave it to a stalker across the country to scare the shit out of me."

Her stomach made itself known by growling loudly, and she remembered she hadn't eaten anything since lunch.

"The last fucking place I'm going is downstairs where it's dark."

She contemplated what to do when she heard her cell phone ring.

"Restricted? Who actually even does that anymore?" Brooke joked, though started to get more scared by the moment.

"Hello..?"

"Brooke, please don't hang up."

"Nathan! Thank god, I thought you were some weirdo..well, actually, that's the PG version of what I think _you_ are." 

"I didn't think you'd pick up if you saw it was me. Can I please just talk to you?"

"I'm actually really busy watching cartoons right now. It might have to wait."

"Brooke, come on. Can I come over then? I really just want to talk to you."

Brooke lightened at the thought of not being alone, but she remembered to keep her composure when she realized what it meant.

"Uhmm...yeah, I guess. Call me when you're standing at my door."

"Uh..why?"

"I'm not going downstairs till I have to. It's too dark."

Nathan chuckled. "Okay, B."

She tensed when he used her nickname, but didn't say anything. Afterall, he could still call her that. It's not like he had cheated on her like Lucas, he just confessed his undying love for her. Soo different.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nathan got out of his car and looked in front of him.

La Casa de Davis.

His Brooke was waiting inside.

Yes, his Brooke. He had waited long enough to tell her what he did, and it was only fair for him to know how she felt. If she was only interested in friendship, she had a funny way of showing it.

He stopped thinking when he heard something rustle in the bushes.

_Damn, Luke is desperate. Doesn't he know Brooke doesn't want him anymore?!_

"Yo, Luke! Get out of the bushes, man. She doesn't want you anymore."

Nothing happened.

_Whatever, I'll just talk to him later._

He pulled his phone out and called Brooke.

"Hello?" came a muffled cry from Brooke.

Nathan instantly tensed. "Brooke? Is something wrong?"

"_Please_ tell me you're here."

"Yeah, I'm outside. Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm coming downstairs now. Just wait."

"Alright."

Nathan waited on the doorstep for all of two seconds before he saw all the lights in the house go on.

Brooke opened the door and ushered him in.

"Brooke, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Brooke couldn't stop the tears that were now freely falling. She turned around to look at Nathan. She opened her mouth to say anything, but nothing came out. Nathan pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.

"Brooke, please say something."

"Someone's outside."

"Yeah, it's probably Lucas."

"No, it's not. He's still at the party. I just called Peyton, she's still there, too."

"Then who do you think it is?"

"I have a feeling about who it is, but it's impossible."

"Who?"

"You know that kid I told you about, that I met in California?"

"Yeah."

"I think he's stalking me."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Sorry to leave you hanging like this, but I'm so tired right now. And it was really hard to write this chapter without closing my eyes. I know it's really short, but hey, there's some great Brathan action, and I'll try to update more tomorrow or ASAP. I have family coming in next week, so I'm gonna try to get at least three more chapters written by then. **

**Thanks for reading. Now review. I wanna get like ten a chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

Nathan sat silently, watching Brooke try to sleep in her bed, while he leaned up on the headboard on the other side. He knew she probably didn't want to talk. But he wanted to, and she could just listen, right?

"Uhm..Brooke...you awake?"

All he heard was a muffled "Vuck poo."

"Thanks, but, please, can I just talk to you? You don't have to say anything...you can just listen."

Brooke sat up and turned around to face him.

"Nathan, you know I can't just listen. I'm me, for God's sake. What did you want to ...talk...about?"

"I think you know perfectly well what I want to talk about."

"Well, yeah, I do...so, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Nathan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Goddamnit, Brooke, I ...no! There isn't."

Brooke simply rolled her eyes at his frustration. "Fine. Talk. But I'm not promising to talk back, or even to listen."

"Well," Nathan started, "I guess that's a start. Alright, well, I dunno, I just..." Nathan looked down at his hands.

"Just..what?" Brooke inquired.

"Love you."

"Oh, yeah. Well, you know how I feel about _that_ whole scenario."

"Brooke, that's just it. I don't know how you feel about it. After I said...what I said, you just left. I have no idea how you feel about me."

Now it was Brooke's turn to get nervous.

"Nathan, it's not that I don't...Okay, uhm. If I say this to you, it has to be kept in complete secrecy. Like, you can't tell Tim or Jake...or God forbid you tell Lucas-"

"Brooke, I get it. I can't tell anybody."

She drew in a sharp intake of breath. "I'm afraid."

"Of the guy outside? B, I can go kick his ass or whatever in a second, but-"

"No, I don't mean him. I mean, I'm extremely freaked out by that too, but I doubt he's still here. Whoever he was, he probably saw you. So for now, I'm okay." Brooke took another deep breath and continued.

"I'm afraid of...love."

"Wait..what?"

"Love, committment, relationships, sex..stuff.., everything! I mean, I've never been in a relationship where I was truely in love. Lucas...came close. But, I guess that was never really going to happen. I should've known he'd cheat on me sooner or later, so I guess that whole thing was somewhat my fault."

"Him cheating on you was not your fault. The only thing you ever did wrong was ...well...nothing. Don't ever blame yourself for what happened."

"Thanks. But somehow, it's not making me feel any better."

"You know, Lucas..., he...he feels...horrible about what happened. He talks about you all the time. I know he's the worst kind of asshole, but he _is _sorry. That's saying something, at least."

"I guess. But quite honestly, Lucas isn't the first person on my bad list right now."

"Oh, really? That's believeable. Then, who-"

_BANG._

"What the hell?" Nathan exclaimed.

"Shittttt. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!" Brooke whispered.

"Uh, Brooke?"

"That's gotta be him...my stalker? David? It's gotta be. Jesus Christ. This isn't good. Shit." Brooke babbled.

"Brooke, slow down. What's wrong?"

Brooke slowly looked up at him with huge, teary eyes.

"He's here."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nathan slowly opened Brooke's bedroom door and when he saw nothing but darkness, turned on the flashlight Brooke had finally found and used it to peer around the upstairs hall.

Nothing.

He saw nothing, and somehow, that worried him.

"Brooke?", he whispered.

"Hm?", she barely made a sound, fearing someone might hear her.

"Does your house have an alarm system?"

"Yes."

"..."

"..."

"...Okay, but is it on?"

"Shit. No."

Nathan peared down the stairway.

"Fuck...alright, uhm...I'm going to go check if someone's here, okay?"

At this, Brooke squeezed his hand tighter.

"No. No, no, no. Nathan, you don't know who's down there! And you are SO not leaving me to fend for myself."

Nathan sighed. As adorably selfish as she was being right now, she was also right.

"You're right."

"Of course I- ...well, I mean, thanks. ...So, uh...now what?"

"Besides...that David..kid.., who could be here?"

"I would say that it was just my drunk parents, but they're away on vacation again."

"When are they supposed to be home? Like, is they're any chance they'd be home early?"

"No, I mean, they're not supposed to be home 'til next week. And they'd call if they were going to be home early."

"Then it has to be..."

Brooke tried to will her tears that were now threatening to fall away and squeezed Nathan's hand tighter.

"Peyton or Bevin would call, Lucas would text, and Tim...would probably send me some creepy instant message.", she supplied.

"So then it's...him."

Brooke couldn't take it anymore. She started to cry.

"No, no, Brooke, come on, don't cry. I won't let him touch you, okay?"

Brooke simply nodded her head in reply.

"Good, alright, uhm...Jesus...do you have like a bat or something?"

"How the hell would I...Oh wait, yeah. I think...maybe..." Brooke furrowed her eyebrows together in deep concentration.

_God, she's so cute when she does that. Nathan! Focus. You might never get to see her again if you don't do something about the stupid fuck downstairs._

"...yeah, I think that's where he keeps it...Nathan? Nathannnn...you there?"

"What? Oh, yeah...sorry. Where'd you say he kept it?"

"My dad has an old one in the upstairs hall closet by the bathroom."

"Alright, I'm going to go get that, and you go to your room and call the police. Can you do that?"

Brooke tried as hard as she could not to cry. "Yeah, yeah. I ...I can do that."

"Okay, let's go."

Nathan grabbed her hand and pulled her back up the stairs.

"Alright, go in your room and get the phone. I'll look for that bat."

"If stalker-boy comes up and tries to kill you first, make sure you let me know so I can escape."

Nathan smiled. "I'd do that even if you weren't kidding."

Brooke almost unsurely smiled, not knowing he would come back with such a bold answer. "Thanks, Nate."

"Of course."

"Well, I..uhm..the phone...I'm gonna go get the phone..then.."

Nathan smiled again. He loved making her nervous. "Alright."

Nathan searched through the closet and found at least a dozen tennis rackets before he finally found the bat. He quietly shut the closet door, and instantly saw Brooke standing in front of him.

"Jesus, Brooke!", he half-whispered, half-yelled. "You shouldn't just sneak up on a guy with a bat! I could've hit you easily if-"

"Your sporto reflexes weren't so horrible. I know, I know."

"Thanks..."

Brooke smiled briefly and continued. "So, I dialed 911 and all, they're on their way." She kinked her eyebrow. "Since we're about to die, you look extremely sexy with a bat in your hand."

Nathan just smirked at this. "I know."

Brooke blushed, again not expecting him to answer like that.

"Brooke, I'm going to go downstairs and see if he's still there, okay?"

"Sure, just...leave that bat thing up here."

"Brooke! I'm going to need it if he attacks me."

"I know...I just..." Brooke looked around the hall quickly and threw her arms around Nathan.

Nathan tried not to drop the bat as she threw herself on him. "Brooke, it's gonna be alright. You're going to be fine."

Brooke pulled back and looked right into his eyes. "It's not...it's not me that I'm worried about."

"Aww, how cute! Brooke Davis is actually-" Brooke cut him off and slammed her lips onto his and Nathan again struggled to keep his hold on the bat.

After a few seconds, she pulled back. "I'm sorry, but if one of us dies, I just wanted you to know that-"

Nathan silenced her with his lips on hers. Reluctantly, he pulled back. "Me, too."

Brooke smiled and hugged him. "I love..just be careful, okay?"

"I will."

**Reviews are greatly appreciated. 10 a chappie, at least, would be nice. That's all I ask. Not much, I don't think. Sorry it took so long! But when I get writer's block, I get it bad. I still have it, I don't know if I want David to attack Nathan then Brooke, or just Brooke, or no one. SO HELP! Review, bitchezz.**


	6. Chapter 6

Nathan silently crept down the staircase, holding the bat as his side, ready to have some batting practice on the guy that dared to mess with him, or worse, the guy that dared to stalk Brooke.

At the last step, he looked right towards the living room.

Nothing.

He looked left towards the kitchen.

Nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the dining room.

Again, nothing.

And even though he saw nothing, he still felt worried.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, YOU PYSCHO!"

Nathan whipped his head around towards the stairs, and without a second thought, raced up the stairs as fast as he could. This was his entire fault.

He forgot about one room.

Brooke's.

--

Brooke walked into her room and shut the door, leaning on it as she took a deep breath.

She had finally told, though really just showed, Nathan how she felt. She smiled to herself, but then remembered the current circumstances and got serious again.

"Aw, it was so good to see the Brooke Davis smile, again, even if only for a second."

Brooke looked up towards her bed.

"No, no, no, no!" she whimpered.

David got off the bed and walked towards her.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, Miss Brooke."

For some reason, Brooke couldn't find the strength to open the door and run. Because she knew he would follow. Just like he followed her to Tree Hill.

"Brooke, why didn't you answer my calls? I thought we hit it off."

Brooke swallowed a huge lump in her throat and spoke.

"We did, but Kelly told me some things about you, and I didn't want to believe them, David, but, I mean, they were pretty convincing."

She saw a flash of anger cross his face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

He took a deep breath, and caressed her face with his hand.

She turned away, and he just laughed.

"What exactly did she say?" David smiled wickedly. "I'm harmless."

"Not according to the last girl you beat up." Brooke bravely spit out.

David smiled wickedly again, and smacked her square across the face.

Brooke held on to her stinging cheek, and remembered one person who could help her.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, YOU PYSCHO!" She screamed as she pushed, no shoved him, onto the bed, all the while, praying that Nathan would hear her.

Brooke must have underestimated her cheerleading lungs, because the whole town had just heard her.

David pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Brooke, baby, if you wanted me in your bed this bad, all you had to do was ask."

"Really? Did I ask you before or after I told you to leave me alone?"

"You don't have to say anything, sweetie, in fact, now is a good time to be quiet." David sneered, getting closer and closer to Brooke.

The door burst open, revealing Nathan with a bat in his hands, ready to strike.

"If I heard correctly, and I'm pretty sure I did because I'm also pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard, she asked you to back the fuck up." Nathan calmly said, moving in front of a shaking Brooke.

"Oh, really, batboy? And what are you going to do about it?" David asked, glancing down at the bat and then back at Nathan, "Play ball?"

Nathan smirked. "If that's what you want to play, _David_. Looks like I've got the bat, so I guess you have to be the ball. But I wouldn't mind kicking your ass, either."

"Oh, is that how you do it here in Tree Hill, then? So I guess you wouldn't mind if I show Brooke how we do it in Cali."

"Yeah, I would mind. And so would the police, since they're on their way."

"You really think some stupid hick rent-a-cop is going to scare me?"

Just as David spoke, he was tackled to the ground.

"No, but I bet the North Carolina SWAT team would. Good thing they're in town, huh?"

Brooke could only watch as the SWAT team took away David. She clung onto Nathan's arm. He turned around and held her in his arms as she sobbed softly into his chest.

"You stupid slut! Don't think this is over! Fuck you if you do! When I get out of here, you better hope that your precious boyfriend is there to protect you, because I'm going to fuck you until you bleed! And then, I'll kill you, while he watches." David screamed as he was dragged away.

Brooke just cried harder into his chest and Nathan held her tighter.

"Don't listen to him, I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered in her ear.

All Brooke could do was pray that Nathan was right, because if he wasn't, then David was right, she's dead.

"Come on, Brooke, let's pack you a bag and get you out of here."


	7. Chapter 7

Nathan found himself watching over Brooke again as she was sleeping. Only this time, he wouldn't have to wake her up. He knew that she felt the same way about him that he felt about her. In fact, he wasn't ever going to wake her up. Not for school, not for her friends, not for her parents…if they even cared. No, he wasn't going to let anyone in until Brooke wanted him or her to be.

Brooke rolled over towards the door, not wanting Nathan to know she was awake, and held her chunky pink heart necklace that Lucas had given her after their first month of dating. She had looked at it forever when they were shopping one day, but she had no cash left. She didn't think Lucas saw her eyeing it, but he told her to go ahead and get the car while he bought it for her. It was then when she first began to fall for him.

But that was one good day out of many, many, many bad ones.

All of a sudden, as if karma heard her thinking, Lucas barged into Nathan's room.

"Brooke, oh…Brooke, I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I should've been there. I'm so sorry." Lucas let out as he crossed the room and held Brooke in his arms, like he never wanted to let go. Like he had never cheated on her. And she kept holding on, like he never had.

None of this went unnoticed by Nathan.

"Eh-hem…" Nathan cleared his throat.

Lucas finally released Brooke but still held her shoulders with his hands.

"I'm so sorry for everything. Are you okay?" Lucas asked.

Brooke started to speak but Lucas cut her off.

"Well, I mean, are you okay now?" Lucas looked down at Brooke expectantly.

Brooke stayed quiet for a few more seconds, and Lucas again started talking.

"Listen, he's never going to see you again, okay? Not as long as I'm here."

Lucas hugged her again fiercely, and Brooke looked over his shoulder at Nathan, who was solemnly staring at her. After a few seconds, he tore his eyes away from her.

Brooke finally broke away from Lucas and whispered "Thank you, Luke."

"Anything for you, pretty girl." Lucas nodded in response.

Normally Brooke would have said something to his old nickname for her, but he was being so nice, so different, so not Lucas.

Where was this side of Lucas when they were dating? This was what she needed.

All Nathan could do was look on in disbelief.

What the hell was Brooke doing? Lucas was the guy that cheated on her. And it pissed Nathan off that she just let him in that quickly.

_I guess it's just always going to be Brucas. No matter what I do, no matter what I say, no matter if he cheats on her everyday…it's always Brucas. _Nathan thought.

Nathan crossed the room and went through the door, and Brooke followed him with her eyes until he was gone.

_I'm so stupid. Now, Nathan hates me. But I'm not going to ruin this good of a moment with Luke. He's never this nice to me. _Brooke thought. _I'd better go talk to him._

"Lucas, thank you for being here for me. But, I have to tell you something."

Lucas waited for a response, but Brooke just couldn't tell him about Nathan. Not yet, not with this fragile of a situation.

"I…uh…I'm going downstairs. Can you tell Peyton and ask her to get my homework from school tomorrow? I'm gonna go see how Nathan's doing."

"Of course. But I have to tell you something."

"Okay."

"Brooke, I'm so sorry for what happened with Peyton. There's no reason for what I did, and my excuse is pathetic, too. But you have to know; Theresa told me that you spent a night with Nathan. I was pissed, because I really thought… I thought that we were the real thing. Peyton was already piss drunk, and I knew that she was the lowest I could go; the most hurtful thing I could do to you. I asked Nathan about it later, and he said nothing happened. And I know now that nothing did, but…I just…can we please just start over?"

_Oh crap._ Brooke thought.

"Luke, nothing happened between Nathan and me that night…but, something-"

Lucas cut her off with a chaste kiss, and karma decided to be a bitch again.

"Seriously, Brooke?"

Brooke turned around and saw Nathan standing in the doorway.

"Nathan-"

"I guess it's always going to be Lucas, huh?" Nathan said, and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Lucas looked at the door. "What was that about?"

"Listen Luke, I was going to say that even though I never cheated on you with Nate, I have feelings for him now. Strong ones. And I'm not going to ignore them anymore. I love him. I have to go find him." Brooke ran out of the room, looking for Nathan.

Brooke got to the staircase and saw Nathan getting his jacket on by the door.

"Nathan, wait, please…just listen to me." Brooke pleaded as she came down the stairs.

"No, you listen, you've been playing around with my feelings, and now you're playing around with Luke's. I'll always be here for you, but you have to choose."

"Nathan, he kissed me, you just walked in on bad timing."

Nathan shoved his arms through the sleeves of his letterman jacket.

"It doesn't matter Brooke, you let him."

Nathan closed the door, and left Brooke to sit on the edge of the stairs.

It took Brooke a few seconds to realize something, but when she did, she threw open the door and ran after Nate.

She caught up to him just as he was getting in his car. It was storming and windy outside; Tree Hill was under a severe weather warning.

"You lying scum!" Brooke screamed through the rain and gusts of wind.

Nathan whipped his head around. "What?"

Brooke came closer to him. She didn't care that she was freezing. She didn't care that she was soaked. She didn't care that she'd probably get sick if she stayed out here much longer. All she cared about was Nathan.

"You lied to me! You said you would protect me! You said you'd never leave me alone again! But as soon as Lucas shows up, you run off like a moron. You didn't even let me explain anything. I always listen to you, but when something doesn't go your way, you can never just listen to me!" She screamed. She was starting to get tired.

"I never thought I'd walk in on Lucas shoving his toungue down your throat again! I thought you knew better than to trust him again, Brooke. I've walked in on that too many times, but I didn't think I'd walk in on it after everything that's happened."

"Nathan, I tried to tell him about you, and he kissed me! Okay? I didn't expect it at all. I didn't know he still wanted me, alright? How am I supposed to block something I didn't know was going to happen? And how could you think so low of me? I'm so far from trusting him that I might never be able to again. Not if that's the way he reacts to things. I don't love him, Nathan. I love you."

Nathan looked at her wet hair and her shivering body. She had never looked so beautiful. He couldn't leave her, not like this. And she was right. He had promised to protect her, and he was already failing.

"I love you, too."

Brooke smiled.

"Took you long enough."

"Me? I've already told you I love you before, you just said it-"

Brooke cut him off and jumped onto him, kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

Nathan regained his balance, and kissed back.

After a few good minutes of kissing, he finally pulled back and lowered her to the ground.

"Come on, you're gonna have a horrible cold. Let's go inside. I'm sure Lucas can…go to Peyton's or something."

"Nathan!"

"I'm sorry. Just kidding."

"Oh, haha, very funny. You know if I didn't love you so much, I'd have to beat you up."

"Oh really? Well if I didn't want to go inside and have my way with you, I might just let you."

"I love you Nathan Royal Scott."

"I love you more, Brooke Penelope Davis."


End file.
